Dunleavy health pick has background in construction training

A Dunleavy press release said Adam Crum, 34, has managed “large teams and multi-million dollar budgets,” but he has not managed anything approaching the largest department in the state, one with a budget of $3.2 billion.

Dermot ColeNovember 28, 2018 Comments

Dunleavy goes Outside for GOP budget director with no Alaska ties

Gov.-elect Mike Dunleavy has decided that the best way to cut the budget is to get someone from Outside to lead the charge, though she doesn’t know the state budget or Alaska.

Dermot ColeNovember 26, 2018 Comments

Asking employees to kiss the ring won't improve Alaska state services

The demand by Gov.-elect Mike Dunelavy and chief of staff Tuckerman Babcock for a loyalty oath from hundreds of state employees who are not part of the political class is a mistake.

Dermot ColeNovember 20, 2018 Comments

Small government champion Tuckerman Babcock lands big government job

Tuckerman Babcock has been named by Gov.-elect Mike Dunleavy as the chief of staff for the Dunleavy administration, a position in which he ought to set a good example by accepting a salary commensurate with the ideals of a man dedicated to small government.

Dermot ColeNovember 19, 2018 Comments

Murkowski, Sullivan fail to acknowledge Trump tariffs as threat to Alaska fishing

President Trump started a trade war with China without a coherent strategy or any concern about the damage it could inflict on fishing or any other industry in the United States. Alaska’s U.S. senators just can’t bring themselves to say that or push back.

Dermot ColeNovember 16, 2018 Comments

Does it make any sense to spend $6 billion from Permanent Fund? No.

Deciding whether the state can afford to take $6 billion from the permanent fund will be a major decision for the next Legislature. But it shouldn’t be a difficult one because the withdrawal should only be about half that amount.

Dermot ColeNovember 15, 2018Comment

Sudden oil price slide should alarm slumbering Alaska politicians

Alaska oil hit $85 a barrel on Oct. 3, but the price is now below $70 per barrel. President Donald Trump wants to see it keep falling: "Hopefully, Saudi Arabia and OPEC will not be cutting oil production. Oil prices should be much lower based on supply!" he wrote on Twitter.

Dermot ColeNovember 13, 2018 Comment

Dunleavy's constitutional adviser has long attacked Alaska Constitution as 'awful'

Based on his history, former Rep. Dick Randolph would like nothing better than radical changes in the Constitution so that state resources will be handed to private companies in the interest of fighting socialism. Whether Dunleavy goes along remains to be seen.

Dermot ColeNovember 12, 2018 Comments

Dunleavy keeps making a $2 billion mistake on permanent fund holdings

Alaska’s next governor will ask the Legislature to make 2019 the year of the giant dividend—about $6,700 per person. It’s not a conservative approach.

Dermot ColeNovember 9, 2018 Comments

Don Young says his win was his 'largest majority' ever. It wasn't.

Rep. Don Young received a higher percentage of the vote in the 1976, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2010 and 2012 elections.

Dermot ColeNovember 8, 2018 Comments